VERSO
Signed and titled

The artist writes, “I frequently like to tell archetypal stories of life cycles in my paintings. In this case, the story speaks of motherhood. With grizzlies in particular, there’s this amazing dichotomy between the tenderness of a mother and her child, set against her potential for incredible power and violence in the protection of her offspring. The soft fur textures, warm colors, ambient light, and subtle value transitions all provide a gentleness to the image, while the powerful stance of the mother in front of her cub, the heavy rock foreground elements, and the general triangular lines of the composition all speak to the underlying latent power that is there. It’s this push and pull between gentleness and power, vulnerability and strength, that hopefully gives the painting its emotional weight.”